Press Release: Over 14,000 awarded GOAL scholarships in 2026

A total of 14,064 citizens have been awarded scholarships through the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL) for 2026, bringing the number of scholarships awarded between 2021 and 2026 to 54,627.

Annual awards have increased each year since GOAL’s launch: 6,280 in 2021; 7,410 in 2022; 7,752 in 2023; 8,316 in 2024; 10,805 in 2025; and 14,064 in 2026.

The 2026 awards are distributed for the following academic levels: 4,960 vocational certificate; 4,452 Get Ready for Opportunities to Work (GROW); 1,761 Master’s degree; 1,652 Bachelor’s degree; 365 Diploma; 186 Associate Degree and 688 progression from GROW to Bachelor’s.  GROW is a pre-university foundation programme for persons who did not complete secondary school or did not obtain the required Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examination passes. Once the six to nine month programme is completed, scholars are automatically placed into a bachelor’s degree programme at one of GOAL’s partners.

From a regional standpoint, Region 4 recorded the highest number of awardees with 6,145, followed by Region 3 with 2,188 and Region 6 with 1,760. The remaining allocations were Region 2 – 1,041; Region 5 – 773; Region 10 – 760; Region 7 – 432; Region 1 – 363; Region 9 – 338; and Region 8 – 264.

Women account for the majority of awardees, with 10,520 females and males: 3,544.

Compared to 2025, there have been increases in several academic levels. Certificate awards rose from 3,202 to 4,960, while GROW increased from 2,469 to 4,452. Associate Degrees also moved up from 23 to 186. Awards increased for both genders, with female awardees rising from 7,801 to 10,520 and male awardees from 3,004 to 3,544.

Every administrative region recorded higher numbers than in 2025. Region 1 increased from 292 to 363; Region 2 from 809 to 1,041; Region 3 from 1,514 to 2,188; Region 4 from 4,984 to 6,145; Region 5 from 711 to 773; Region 6 from 1,173 to 1,760; Region 7 from 250 to 432; Region 8 from 103 to 264; Region 9 from 238 to 338; and Region 10 from 731 to 760.

GOAL Director, Professor Jacob Opadeyi, congratulated the awardees and said, “Each year we see more Guyanese stepping forward to upgrade their qualifications. These figures show that people are using the opportunities that GOAL provides to move ahead in their studies and careers.”

Seven new partners were added for the 2026 cycle, bringing the total number of partner institutions to 28. They are: The New Guyana School, Guyana; New Horizon Educational Institution, Guyana; Saint James School of Medicine, St Vincent & the Grenadines; Lewis University, USA; International University of Miami, USA and Miles Education, USA.

The GOAL initiative is a core education commitment of the Government of Guyana since 2020. Scholarships are now unlimited, with the condition that each person may hold only one scholarship at a time to ensure fair and broad access.

Persons who wish to pursue studies but missed this cycle can apply when the scholarship portal reopens in May 2026. Interested applicants are encouraged to prepare their documents early and follow GOAL’s official Facebook page for all updates and instructions.

For more information about GOAL, visit www.goal.edu.gy or follow the official GOAL Facebook page.